Hand tool



Feb, 27, 1923. 1,446,540)

W. A. BERNARD HAND TOOL Filed Nov. 29, 1918 '2 sheets-sheet l Feb. 27, 1923.

W. A. BERNARD HAND TOOL Filed Nov. 29, 1918 2 sheets-sheet 2 aim/anew WILLIABI A. BEBNAEE), OF NE'VV Ei-QTEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOB '20 THE 'lFTILL'iAlf/I CONNECTICUT.

HEJJ'EET, CONEBTECTIUUT, A COBPORATIGN OF HAlil'D 53061;.

Application fi1ed'1Toven1ber 29, 1918.

n L T 1 New Haven, county of New i aven, S ate of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Hand Tools, of which the following is a full, clear, and e:;- act description.

This invention relates to a hand tool the plier or lever handle type, and it has particular reference to a wire cutter.

The primary object of the invention is to furnish a powerful and efiicient, compact and readily portable tool for cutting hard steel wire of the kind in which two or more strands lie parallel to each other and are suitably fastened together. The particular tool. selected for illustration is intended. to cut wire of great hardness and toughne s, which is of the duplex or two-strand type, the two strands lying in contact with each other throughout their length and being fastened together by solder or the like.

in cutting wire of this character, by means of a tool having pivoted or so-callcd alligator aws, considerable dificulty been encountered owing to the fact that t 1e tendency of the jaws, when they approach each other in the cutting movement, is to separate or spread apart the individual strands or wires. This renders cutting difficult, as the jaws cannot get the proper grip on at least one of the strands. More specifically, the object of my invention is to overcome this drawback by furnishing a tool in which both or all the strands are positively and firmly gripped by the shearing edges.

To these and other endsthe invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a tool embodying my improvements, showing the aws opened.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the jaws closed.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side edge view of the front end portion of the tool.

Fig. 1 is a front end elevation of the tool with, the handles omitted, and

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are fragmentary views of the cutting jaws showing them in diiferent positiona Serial No. 264,812.

In its general features, the tool selected for illustration is similar to that shown in my Patent No. 1,164,981, dated December 21, 1915. ale jaws 10 are formed at the forward ends of crossed lever members 11, which are pivoted together-by a suitable pivot member 12. The levers 11 are open ated by handle levers 13, which are pivoted together at their forward ends by means of a pm 14 and are pivoted to the rear ends of the levers 11 by means of pins 15. By pivoting the lever handles 13 together their forward ends, and pivoting them to he levers 11 in the manner stated, a very powerful compound leverage is obtained, as described in the patent aforesaid.

The jaws 10 are of the shearing type, havshearing; edges located closely in front of the pivot 12, for shearing off the wire. The tool is provided with seats or grooves in which the different strands respectively are firmly and positively gripped during the shearing action. The tool selected for illustration is adapted for the shearing of twostrand wire of the kind previously de scribed and consequently two grooves or seats are provided for gripping the two strands, each jaw preferably having two seats or grooves, those of one jaw being in registry with the corresponding seats or grooves of the other jaw. in the form shown. 'both. of the jaws are alike. Each has a flat inner face 1O which, when the jaws are fully closed, partially overlies the corresponding; face of the other jaw. In other words, parts of the inner edges of the jaws are adapted to pass each other when the jaws are fully closed. as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 7. This overlapping may be accomplished by forming the respective cutting edges of the jaws outwardly off center with respect to the center of the pivot 12, or in other words so constructing the jaws that a line drawn across the cutting edges of the seats or grooves of the bottom will lie below the center of the pivot and a similar line across the upper jaw will lie above the center of the pivot. The overlapping: portions of the jaws are located in front of the wire receiving seats, which are preferably constituted by partly cylindrical grooves 16, 17. The inner edge portions of tht jaws are relatively wide and flat, the

aws being fairly thick and heavy so as to fulfill sayisfactorily the intended purpose.

The shearing edges are, of course, located at the juncture of the inner face with the inner ends of the respective grooves 16, 17 a right-angled shearing edge being pro-- duced at the inner ends of the seats or grooves.

The grooves 16, which are located farthest in front of the pivot 12, may be some-- what shallower than their companion grooves, which are located nearer the pivot. When the aws are fully closed, as shown in Fig. 7, the complementary grooves do not form round openings, but rather they form than the rear opening.

7 ticular form shown, but this is not essential inall aspects of the invention.

The operationof the tool is as follows:

The jaws being open, the wire is introduced between them as shown in Fig. 5. The jaws are then closed by forcing together the lever handles 13. When the jaws reach approximately the position shown in Fig. 6, the strands are gripped firmly in the respective grooves 16, 17 of both jaws, and

as the jaws are moved to the fully closed position, shown in Fig. 7, the wire is for cibly sheared off and severed. Because of the peculiar off center location of the corresponding cutting edges in relation to the pivot the forward'portion 18 of one of the jaws meets and passes the corresponding portion of the other jaw before the rear portion does and consequently the wire or wires farthest from the pivot are gripped and sheared first. It is also obvious that there will be a tendency to crowd the wires toward the pivot but due to the confining action of the grooves, no movement takes place. By cutting one strand ahead of the other the operation is considerably facilitated. When the jaws are brought together on the wire, the outer grooves 16 immediately grip the outer strand in a firm and positive manner, thus preventing it from being separated from the inner strand. As the outer strand isfirmly gripped, it is not forced or wedged-outwardly by the alligator movement of the jaws and hence it is out very effectively, the cutting action commencing before the cutting action on the inner strand. The shearing action on the wire is so forcible that both strands are torn apart or sheared off by the time the jaws reach the position shown in Fig. 7, in which position shallow openings still exist between the jaws in line with the respective 'c-oooerating pairs of grooves. I

Y en the jaws are closed on the wire, the inner edge portions of the former meet and pass each other in front, as well as in the rear of the wire receiving grooves. The portions 18 (Fig. 7) in front of the grooves 16, which extend inward farther than the bottoms of grooves 16, obviouslyconstitute a very effective means for preventing out-- ward slip of the wire immediately prior to and during the cutting.

Without limitingjmyself to the construction shown, I claim 1. In a hand tool for shearing wire having a plural numberof strands, a pair of pivoted operating handles, a pair of pivot ed jaws, said operating handles connected to said jaws rearward of the pivot of said jaws, said jaws having a plural number of transverse grooves in the portion forward of the pivot thereof, said grooves arrangedto retain the strand of wire nearest the pivot of said jaws while a strand of wire farther away from said pivot is being sheared.

2. A tool for shearing wire having a plural number of strands, provided with pivot ed alligator shearing jaws between which the strands are introduced, said jaws being provided with transverse grooves to grip and shear the strands in the inverse order in which they are'arranged from the pivot of said jaws.

3. A tool for cutting multiple strand wire, provided with wide opposed shearing jaws pivoted together, said jaws having cutting edges outwardly ofl center with respect to the pivot center and tending thereby to crowd said wire strands toward thepivot and having transversely extending wire seats at the inner portion thereof to grip and retain said wire during the shearing operation.

4:. A tool for cutting a plurality of wires substantially simultaneously, comprising a pair of pivoted handles,a pair of wide jaws pivoted together and to said handles for operation thereby having wire seats extending across same adj acentthe pivot,,the shearing edges of said seats being outwardly ofi cen ter with respect to the pivot center, thereby causing said jaws to crowd the wires toward said pivot and retain and support said wires within said jaws in said seats during the shearing operation.

5. A hand tool for cutting wire having a plurality of strands, comprising a pair of operating handles pivoted together, a'pair' of wide pivoted jaws pivoted to saidhan dles for operation thereby, said jaws having cooperating shearing edges, said jaws also having a plurality of grooves extend ing at right angles from said shearing edges precise masses across said jaws closely adjacent the pivot or said jaws, whereby the aws respectively grip and shear in the direction of the jaw pivot the strands of Wire in said grooves.

6. A tool of the class described equipped with pivoted jaws having shearing edges that pass each other and wire carrying grooves extending across the jaws at right angles to said shearing edges, said shearing edges located with respect to the pivot of said jaws so that the grooves nearest the pivot will grip and hold a strand of stranded wire placed therein while the other strand or strands are being sheared and will then shear the first strand.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand on the 27th day of November, 1918.

WILLIAM A. BERNARD. 

